Catch a Flight soars to Californian victory

Catch a Flight (left) got the best of Moreno (right) in the Californian (Benoit Photos) Haras Santa Maria de Araras Inc.’s Catch a Flight (Giant’s Causeway) caught 6-5 favorite Moreno (Ghostzapper) in Saturday’s $200,750 Californian S. (G2) to prevail by a half-length on the wire. With Hall of Fame rider Gary Stevens in the irons, the five-year-old bay finished 1 1/8 miles over Santa Anita Park’s fast main track in 1:47 3/5 to add a second stakes win to his resume. Catch a Flight joined Moreno and eventual pacesetter Big Cazanova (Giant’s Causeway) to run in tandem rounding the first turn, but quickly settled in a nice stalking spot off the rail in third upon hitting the backstretch. Moreno took up pressing duties outside and just off Big Cazanova’s flank as the leader established splits of :22 4/5, :46 4/5 and 1:10 2/5. Moreno moved up to match strides with Big Cazanova entering the turn and quickly wrested control away before hitting the lane. Catch a Flight was just beginning his run as well, and suddenly appeared on the outside of Moreno in the stretch. Those two duked it out before Catch a Flight finally inched away late to score over his better-fancied rival. “Moreno was pretty sluggish leaving the gate and I out-broke him by about half a length. On paper and knowing these two horses’ records, it looked like a match race between the two of them and that’s how I wanted to ride it,” Stevens explained. “It worked out where Big Cazanova went up there and kept Moreno occupied down the backside but they were running slow enough fractions for these kinds of horses. It looked like a match race and it was a match race until inside the eighth-pole.

“Ever since his first win here he’s shown me a lot of tenacity and it was
just a question of if he was fast enough to win,” the reinsman added. “He’s just
now starting to figure out American racing, I think he’s still improving and I
don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet.”

“We figured he’d be off of those two (Big Cazanova and Moreno). Then it was
whether he could catch them or not,” trainer Richard Mandella remarked. “When
(Gary Stevens) goosed him at the quarter-pole, he responded pretty quickly. Gary
knows him well enough. I didn’t try to tell him how to ride him.”

Catch a Flight paid $6.60 as the 2-1 second choice in the eight-horse field.
Moreno was a clear second by 3 1/2 lengths over Hard Aces (Hard Spun), who in
turn was up 1 1/4 lengths on Blue Tone (Birdstone).

“It’s typical Moreno fashion. As soon as he got the lead, his ears pricked.
What are you going to do with a horse like that?” sighed Moreno’s trainer, Eric
Guillot. “You try and separate yourself, but it’s hard to separate when you’ve
got a longshot setting :46 and change fractions. When you’re by yourself and
you’re not pressed, it’s a little bit different breathing pattern. He ran good,
but that’s why I hate running for 200 grand, but he runs just as good for $2
million with $400,000 for second as he does for second for $40,000.”

The Argentine-bred Catch a Flight began his career in Brazil and ended up
Group 1-placed there before transferring to the United States. He made his
stateside debut at Santa Anita Park on January 19, finishing third against
allowance/optional claiming rivals. The five-year-old bay posted a neck score
against similar a month later and was a nice third in the Santa Anita H. (G1) on
March 7.

Given a brief freshening following the Big ‘Cap, Catch a Flight returned last
out to take the May 2 Precisionist S. (G3) as the 7-5 favorite and, in the
process, handed his Hall of Fame trainer his 2,000th career
victory. The win also marked the first North American graded stakes score for
that day’s jockey, Flavien Prat.

“This was a step forward,” Mandella said after the Californian. “The time of
the race was good and he beat Moreno. Every step he’s made has been forward.
We’ll look at the ($500,000) Gold Cup (at Santa Anita S. [G1]) here next (going
1 1/4 miles on June 27).”

If Catch a Flight goes in the Gold Cup, he’ll likely face off against Moreno
for the third straight time.

“The plan is to run back in the Gold Cup unless something comes along with a
little bit more money, a little bit more prestige,” Guillot stated about Moreno.
“A mile and a quarter, I’ll separate myself a little bit more next time.
Hopefully, there’s no cheap speed in there.”

Bred by Estacion de Montas La Mission S.A. and Tupacireta S.R.L.A.G., Catch a
Flight now boasts a 15-9-0-3, $393,239, career record. He is out of Group
2-placed Callaia (Lode), herself a half-sister to multiple Group 2 victress
Calandrelle (Candy Stripes), and is descended from the same female family as
Grade 1-winning sires Ogygian (Damascus), Fappiano (Mr. Prospector), Dare and Go
(Alydar), Go Deputy (Deputy Minister) and Quiet American (Fappiano).

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